PRESIDENT OBAMA: California a frequent stop for fundraiser-in-chief

President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, in Los Angeles. Obama traveled to Palm Springs, and then made his way to Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage.

The weather is great and he loves to golf. But there’s another reason why President Barack Obama keeps coming back to California.

The commander-in-chief is often the Democratic Party’s fundraiser-in-chief during his Golden State trips.

Besides meeting world leaders at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage and golfing with old friends in the Coachella Valley, Obama will typically attend Democratic fundraisers in Los Angeles and San Francisco where he socializes with people who donate as much as $33,400, the maximum amount someone can give to a party committee in a year.

The pattern repeated this week, with Obama traveling to the Bay Area late Wednesday, Feb. 10, to raise money for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee. About 450 guests were expected to attend an event in Atherton, with tickets ranging from $250 to $25,000.

Obama flew to Los Angeles on Thursday for a taping of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and to attend DNC events, one of which featured a performance by singer/songwriter John Legend. Air Force One arrived in Palm Springs on Friday in advance of next week’s two-day summit at Sunnylands featuring Obama and heads of state from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Obama’s political fundraising far outpaces his predecessors. Obama held 393 fundraisers as of July 2014, compared to 318 for George W. Bush for all of his two terms, according to numbers compiled by Naval Academy political science professor Brendan Doherty, author of “The Rise of the President’s Permanent Campaign,” and reported in The Washington Post.

As of March 2015, Obama had held 32 fundraisers in Los Angeles County since becoming president in 2009, CBS Los Angeles reported. Bush and Ronald Reagan each had eight fundraisers in L.A. County in their first six years in office, according to CBS LA.

“Between Hollywood and high tech, there is a lot of Democratic money in California,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. “The president has always been a champion fundraiser.”

He needs to be. Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney each raised more than $1 billion in 2012, and this year’s presidential race could top the $5 billion mark, according to The Hill, a Capitol Hill media outlet.

That doesn’t count money raised by super PACs in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which struck down limits on independent political expenditures by nonprofit groups.

Not surprisingly, the DNC and Republican National Committee had different takes on the president’s California fundraising.

“We’ve now had 71 straight months of private sector job growth, 14 million new jobs, and unemployment is below 5 percent, so the president’s voice is critical to ensuring we keep America moving forward,” said DNC spokesman Walter Garcia.

“President Obama may want to add a few more fundraisers to his schedule while he’s in the Golden State because it will take a lot of money to convince voters to vote for (Hillary) Clinton, who’s facing an FBI investigation or (Bernie) Sanders, a self-avowed socialist from Vermont,” said RNC spokesman Ninio Fetalvo.

At least one local Republican candidate is using Obama’s visit to raise money for his own campaign.

Paul Chabot, of Rancho Cucamonga, who is running against Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands, sent an email titled “He Just Landed” and asked for donations because “It’s crucial we have a quick and strong response against the liberal left who continue to hurt hard working families across our great nation with their tax and spend agenda.”

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